August 2007 Volume 1, Number 6

Special Edition

Announcing Center On Aging 2007 Pilot Grant Award Recipients

The Center on Aging Steering Committee was extremely pleased to have received 15 high quality submissions this year for the pilot grant program. It is gratifying to know that there is growing interest in aging research across the University. The diversity of projects was impressive - ranging from Drosophilia, chimps, and clinical studies in humans and covering a spectrum of disorders including; for example, congestive heart failure, Alzheimer's, glaucoma and cancer.

The Steering Committee operated as the study section to review and rank the applications. Each proposal was reviewed by at least one internal Utah faculty member, an external reviewer, and a member of the Center's Steering Committee. The Committee faced very challenging decisions, given the very high quality of the applications and the limitations in our resources to provide funding for only a limited number.

Thanks to a recently funded award from the National Institute on Aging, we were able to provide a total of $150,000 to fund the top five ranked proposals. The proposal principal investigators and titles are listed below. Please click on the title to view the respective awardee's abstract.

We congratulate these five investigators and look forward to having them present the preliminary results from their work at the Spring 2008 Center on Aging Research Retreat.

MnSOD Genotypes and Aging-Related mtDNA Mutations
Maurine Hobbs, PI

Dysregulation of Fluid Balance and Aging-Related Loss of Regenerative Olfactory Function
Mary Lucero PI

Mechanisms of Improved Glucose Utilization in Elders with Type 2 Diabetes
Robin L. Marcus, PI

Role of Microglia in Glaucoma Onset and Progression
Monica L. Vetter, PI

Localizing Impairment in Executive Function in Early Alzheimer's Disease with Neuroimaging
Jason M. Watson, PI

Utah Gerontological Society (UGS) Conference UGS will hold its 16th annual conference at the Zermatt Resort in Midway Utah September 18th and 19th 2007. Call for presentations has been announced.

Please click here for abstract

About our logo: The bristlecone pine tree (Pinus longaeva) the earth's oldest inhabitant with a life span of 4,000 years is found only in Utah and five other western states. Its extraordinary longevity and ability to adapt and survive in extremely harsh environmental conditions above 10,000 feet embodies the investigative spirit and mission of the Utah Center on Aging.

If you have questions about the University of Utah Center on Aging, please visit us online at http://aging.utah.edu 801-585-9540 or aging@hsc.utah.edu

Best,

Mark A. Supiano, MD
Executive Director - Center on Aging